wheels...my last decision

Lots of places, my friend. One place to start is at http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheels/index.html

There are plenty of other places as well. As you will have plenty to read on Sheldon's site, this is just a starting place. The more you learn, the simpler it is to understand, so simple, in fact, that you can find the answers to your own questions. I am not implying that I don't want to help. What I am saying is you can easily can learn all you want to by doing a little of research; it's not rocket science. On a web board you get more opinions than facts at times.

Great! Thanks for the resource, it is exactly what I was looking for!
~Nick

Try Mike Garcia at oddsandendos.com, I am actually waiting for a wheelset from him to come in. After reading all the reviews and forum posts online, I decided to go with him. Great guy to talk to, and he know his stuff. Call him up and see what he says.

ccrnnr9 said:

I am building off of an orbea mitis frameset and want to have both a set of training wheels and a set of race wheels. I could not find any definitive answers using the search function on this site. Im looking at spending around 200$ on the training wheels (no more than 250, but the cheaper the better) and hopefully no more than 850 for race wheels. I am new to racing but I traing a lot. There are some rough roads in my area so especially for the training wheels, I would like to get something really durable. My thoughts on training wheels are Mavic Aksiums or Shimano 550's. I think those both fall in my price range. Is there anything I should consider in these decisions? I was also wondering if buying preassembled wheels online is a good or bad idea? Also, do you guys have any resources that give a pretty good explanation of the different parts on a wheel so i can begin to understand sizing and what the advantages to different spokes/spoke patterns, hubs, and other components are? Thanks in advance.
~Nick

For training, I would suggest going with 32h Ultegra or similar level hubs and velocity or Mavic OP rims (CXP33 if you want something even tougher) with 14/15 DB spokes and built 3X front and back. This will be a solid, reliable combination that you can find stock or have custom built for not too much money. The advantages are that these wheels would be completely serviceable or rebuildable with readily available parts-no proprietary Shimano or Mavic parts that only fit that wheel. They will also be as light as or lighter than the alternatives that you suggest. I don't see an advantage to something like Aksium, 550's, or Campy Ventos which look trick but are actually quite heavy and not so easily serviceable.

If you biff an Open Pro you can get a new one lickety split and rebuild the wheel, but when was the last time you saw someone with a 20H aksium front rim in their shop?

ccrnnr9 said:

I am building off of an orbea mitis frameset and want to have both a set of training wheels and a set of race wheels. I could not find any definitive answers using the search function on this site. Im looking at spending around 200$ on the training wheels (no more than 250, but the cheaper the better) and hopefully no more than 850 for race wheels. I am new to racing but I traing a lot. There are some rough roads in my area so especially for the training wheels, I would like to get something really durable. My thoughts on training wheels are Mavic Aksiums or Shimano 550's. I think those both fall in my price range. Is there anything I should consider in these decisions? I was also wondering if buying preassembled wheels online is a good or bad idea? Also, do you guys have any resources that give a pretty good explanation of the different parts on a wheel so i can begin to understand sizing and what the advantages to different spokes/spoke patterns, hubs, and other components are? Thanks in advance.
~Nick

I'm a Campy guy and I have a set of Proton's for training (@$400) and Eurus for racing. The Proton's are super tough and a bit lighter than OP's. The Eurus are about the same weight as Ksyrium SL's (give or take a few grams) and they are super fast and responsive. I pretty much ride the Euru's full time. Today's mid-high end wheels are built to take the rigors of training as well as racing. I used the Proton's for a season and now they are really just a bad-weather spare set since I purchased the Eurus'.

What is your reason for a training and a race set?

I had a quesiton about wheel durability, too... since I'm buying a bike w/ Kysyrium equipe's on it. Do you happen to know anything about these, since it looks like you've been doing your research?

unicos said:

What is your reason for a training and a race set?

Well the way I see it, it would be sensible to have a set of training wheels that are super durable that I ride on most of the time. For races it would be important to have a nice light set of wheels that I can ride on and use the training wheels as backups. Also, since a set of nice light race wheels would be expensive, I would rather ruin a set of training wheels than race wheels.
~Nick

If you are looking for a durable set of wheels go with the best hubs you can afford (Record, Chorus or, horror of horrors :p Dura Ace), and lace ' em up to Mavic OPs or a set of decent Ambrosios.

Preferably 36 spoke count. Ride, true/service hubs once a year, repeat. Ad nauseam. Really, a solid wheelset built by your local wheelbuilder should be bulletproof. And will come out being cheaper/on par with boutique wheelsets.

Having said that, a set of Eurus would look sooooo cool on my De Rosa... 🙄

ccrnnr9 said:

Well the way I see it, it would be sensible to have a set of training wheels that are super durable that I ride on most of the time. For races it would be important to have a nice light set of wheels that I can ride on and use the training wheels as backups. Also, since a set of nice light race wheels would be expensive, I would rather ruin a set of training wheels than race wheels.
~Nick

The thought process is good but my experience has been that you are much more likely to damage wheels while racing that when training. I ride one set all the time. Don't do a lot of racing though. 1-local crit, 1-week long cross state ride, and about 3-4 road races per year. I cant think of any riders that I know of damaging wheels when training (ok, one guy was hit by a car but no wheel in the world would have survived); all damages occured in crits and road races. There are many good sets of wheels that will give you both. Look at Reynolds, Zipp, Cane Creek, and Spinergy. Bontrager Race-X-Lite's are bulletproof if you dont want/need carbon.

Train like you race. Its hard to do with two sets of wheels

ccrnnr9 said:

Well the way I see it, it would be sensible to have a set of training wheels that are super durable that I ride on most of the time. For races it would be important to have a nice light set of wheels that I can ride on and use the training wheels as backups. Also, since a set of nice light race wheels would be expensive, I would rather ruin a set of training wheels than race wheels.
~Nick

This is really a good decision. You will get stronger training on your beater wheels because they are heavier and not have to worry about taking rougher roads. I know a lot of racing guys that use this exact strategy. Discovery racing team recently was shown all riding what they call their Roubaix wheel which is nothing more than a standard laced wheel (old school).
Look on eBay for some wheels that match the gearing and gruppo you have.
32H (or 36H) with standard rims and hubs using a 3X lacing pattern will give you an incredibly durable wheel. Also, try www.excelsports.com. Good luck.

ccrnnr9 said:

Well the way I see it, it would be sensible to have a set of training wheels that are super durable that I ride on most of the time. For races it would be important to have a nice light set of wheels that I can ride on and use the training wheels as backups. Also, since a set of nice light race wheels would be expensive, I would rather ruin a set of training wheels than race wheels.
~Nick

I apologize if I sound like a broken record... Unless you race very frequently (at least once a week), I would use one set all the time and keep an inexpensive spare set handy for when the A-wheels are being serviced. Today's quality wheels (with the exception of some of the super light carbon models that start at $1,500 a set) are built to withstand the rigors of everyday use. I have dabbled with the idea of having a training and racing set, but my "race" wheels feel so good, it seems a shame to keep an $800 set of wheels on the shelf for the occasional race. Another note, the limit screws of the rear derailleur may require adjusting whenever you switch wheels. Nothing would be worse than getting a case of chain suck 200 meters from the finish. My race wheels are in perfect sync with my drivetrain and I like that comfort factor as I crank it up on the final turn..

ccrnnr9 said:

There are some rough roads in my area so especially for the training wheels, I would like to get something really durable. ~Nick

Rough roads is the operative statement. Get a pair of conventional wheels with 32H 3X lacing. Riding on your good set will take its toll. Peter F is probably very light and lives in an area with good road surfaces so his strategy is perfectly reasonable...for him.
The botique wheels built today aren't as durable as the older conventional wheel sets...just lighter and more expensive. Great for racing but a waste for training. Conventional wheels give a more comfortable ride than ALL of the highly tensioned fewer spoked wheels. I build wheels and have ridden most of the fancy wheel sets. I prefer my conventional wheels for every day riding. you will get stronger if you ride a heavier wheel with a heavier tire. Then when you get on your race set you will fly.

Deanster04 said:

Rough roads is the operative statement. Get a pair of conventional wheels with 32H 3X lacing. Riding on your good set will take its toll. Peter F is probably very light and lives in an area with good road surfaces so his strategy is perfectly reasonable...for him.
The botique wheels built today aren't as durable as the older conventional wheel sets...just lighter and more expensive. Great for racing but a waste for training. Conventional wheels give a more comfortable ride than ALL of the highly tensioned fewer spoked wheels. I build wheels and have ridden most of the fancy wheel sets. I prefer my conventional wheels for every day riding. you will get stronger if you ride a heavier wheel with a heavier tire. Then when you get on your race set you will fly.

Thanks for the help! Can a set of durable wheels like this be bought new for under 250$? Should I have them built or just buy a set of "boxed" wheels like aksiums or ultegras? I need to do some more research on wheels because other than the basics, I do not know what I am talking about. Know of any good websites that address the basics of wheels and what to look for?